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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
• "Is that email a scam?" - Check it online here!
  
• Frequently asked Questions (419 FAQ)
• Phone numbers used by 419 scammers
  (+225 +229 +234 +27 +31 +32 +34 +44 other)
• Company names mentioned in 419 spam:
  1 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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• What can you do when you receive 419 spam
  
  
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Victims never receive this non-existent fortune but are tricked into sending their money to the criminals, who remain anonymous. They hide their real identity and location by using fake names and fake postal addresses as well as communicating via anonymous free email accounts and mobile phones.

Read more about such scams here or in our 419 FAQ. Use the Scam-O-Matic to verify suspect emails.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "a security company " (this will cost you money - that's what the scam is about)
  • "is 100% risk-free" (almost true for the criminal - arrests of online criminals are rare)
• This email message is a orphan scam.

Fraud email example:

From: "Peter Morgan" <petermorgan066@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: pmorganfamily1970@yahoo.com
Date: Wed, 15 Feb 2006 14:04:34 +0200
Subject: please handle this.

Good day!

My name is MR.PETER.K. MORGAN, eldest son of MR.PIUS MORGAN of Zimbabwe.
This might be a surprise to you where I got your contact address. I got your
address from South African Information Exchange in Johannesburg.

During the current war against the farmers in Zimbabwe from the supporters
of our President Robert Mugabe to claim all the white-owned farms and
black-owned who are in opposition to his government, to his party members
and his followers, he ordered them to surrender all their farms to his party
members and his followers. My father was one of the best farmers in our
country and because he did not support his idea; supporters invaded my
father's farm and burnt everything in the farm, killing my father and made
away with a lot of items in my father's farm. After the death of my father,
my step-mother, I and my younger sister decided to move out from Zimbabwe
because our lives were in danger with the money my father kept in his hidden
safe in my step- mother's house.

The amount contained in the safe is US$17.5m (Seventeen million five hundred
thousand, United State Dollars) and we decided to move to the Republic of
South Africa where we deposited the money in a Security Company as
valuables. So, I decided to contact you through a search from the library
emails to ask you for help and assistance to move this money out of South
Africa, because we are asylum seekers here in South Africa which
disqualifies us from operating an account or getting involved in any
financial transaction here in South Africa. We have agreed to give you from
the total sum 25% for helping us to move this money to your country while
75% will be for me and my family.

I want to assure you that this transaction is 100% risk-free and it requires
mutual trust and absolute confidentiality and I have taken care of all
formalities regarding it. Your urgent response will be highly appreciated in
this regard.

Thanks and God bless.

Best Regards,

PETER.K. MORGAN.

_________________________________________________________________
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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam